SpaceX Readies 50th Person For ISS Journey On Crew-8 Mission
SpaceX readies 50th person for ISS journey on Crew-8 Mission. The Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft are poised for action at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Author:Rhyley CarneyReviewer:Paula M. GrahamMar 03, 20242.3K Shares33.2K Views
SpaceX readies 50th person for ISS journey on Crew-8 mission. The Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft are poised for action at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. However, their launch had to be postponed by a day due to unfavorable weather conditions along the planned trajectory on Saturday night.
The Crew-8 mission is scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 39A at 10:53 p.m. EST on Sunday, March 3 (03:53 UTC Monday). This launch was initially slated for March 1 but faced delays because of poor weather conditions in the area where the crew would be rescued in the event of an emergency during ascent.
According to forecasts by the 45th Weather Squadron, there's a 75 percent chance of favorable weather on Sunday, with attention focused on upper-level wind sheer and cloud cover around the launchpad. Spaceflight Now will provide live coverage from the Kennedy Space Center Press Site, starting approximately four hours before liftoff.
For three out of the four members of Crew-8, this mission marks their debut. However, Michael Barratt, serving as the pilot, brings experience, having previously flown aboard a Soyuz and Space Shuttle Discovery to the ISS in 2009 and 2011, respectively.
“„The idea of multiple vehicles is just such a positive sign of human spaceflight to begin with. Different entities: government agency, private agency, different government agency. Human spaceflight is flourishing and that's a really good thing.- Michael Barratt
Barratt noted that while the SpaceX Dragon offers its advantages as a newer spacecraft, there's a certain admiration for the rides he experienced in the past.
"There's a lot of common elements. Physics transfers quite nicely, but the functionality, the redundancy, the safety, the creature comforts, the human interfaces are all different between vehicles," he said. "And I find that personally very exciting to learn those differences."
Mission Specialist Jeannette Epps underwent training for three different spacecraft. Initially slated to join Expedition 56/57 in 2018, she was unexpectedly removed from the mission without clarification from NASA. Subsequently, she was reassigned to Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft for its first operational flight, which faced significant delays.
Epps expressed that the commentary from others over the years holds little significance to her at present. She emphasized her excitement about embarking on her first space journey after being chosen as an astronaut in 2009.
"I gotta stay focused on what's important and number one for me is trying to be a conscientious worker and in training, being conscientious of the work that's in front of me and making sure I'm not focusing on things that are not important anymore," Epps said. "What happened in the past is in the past and it's going to stay there. I don't want to bring it forward because we have so much good stuff happening now."
During a prelaunch press conference, Epps shared that the most significant memento she'll carry to space is a picture of her mom. In a one-on-one interview with Spaceflight Now, she highlighted the profound influence her mom has had on her journey.
"She knew that I was selected for the astronaut and her words to me were that 'I'm so happy for you. This is what you always wanted in life and I know you're going to do well.' And then, shortly after that, she passed away, which was kind of intense for me in that moment," Epps said. "But having the corps and coming to Houston to live really kind of set me on path of really kind of wanting to make my mom proud of me, if that makes sense."
Commander Matthew Dominick of Crew-8 is embarking on his maiden voyage to space. As a member of the 2017 astronaut class, known as The Turtles, his mission to the space station contributes to the ongoing presence of this cohort of astronauts. NASA astronaut Raja Chari humorously dubbed this concept the "Turtle Takeover" during the launch of Crew-3 in 2021, when he and Kayla Barron lifted off as part of that mission.
"We very nearly lost that. Luckily, there was a small accident with a booster that drove into a bridge, cause Crew-5 is great, Crew-5 is a great group of people, but their one drawback was no Turtles," Dominick quipped. "And so, that moved the Crew-5 launch, it allowed Frank [Rubio] to bridge the gap of continuous turtle presence in space between Crew-4 and Crew-6."
Dominick transitioned to the astronaut corps from the U.S. Navy, where he worked as a test pilot. He accumulated over 1,600 flight hours across 28 different aircraft during his naval career.
“„You look at the movies and you think edge of the envelope flying, edge of the envelope of the aircraft, but a lot of test piloting is the planning and the engineering and working with the great groups of people that make it happen. And then every now and then, you go fly a test flight at the edge of the envelope.- Commander Matthew Dominick
Completing the crew is Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. He graduated from Irkutsk High Military Aviation School, specializing in engineering and aircraft radio repair. Additionally, he pursued studies in radio communications and broadcasting at Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics.
Grebenkin commenced cosmonaut training in 2018 and attained the title of test cosmonaut in 2021.
"I would say that for anyone who is doing anything in their life, they need to try and absorb, to the maximum ability, whatever they're working on and to be and to be as multifaceted as possible," Grebenkin said, speaking through a translator. "Everything I've learned has been very beneficial for me in my career as a cosmonaut. I would say I got selected thanks to what I did before."
Grebenkin remarked that training on the Crew Dragon posed challenges. He noted that the travel time between Russia and the United States for training added to the sense of the process being lengthy.
"We had to travel a lot and you’re not just learning the new vehicle, you're meeting a new training team, you're getting accustomed to a new training approach. So, this is different," he said.
New SpaceX Records
The upcoming launch of the Crew-8 mission will signify the fifth flight of the Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. It is poised to become the most experienced Dragon spacecraft in terms of flights, encompassing both crew and cargo versions.
"We took a little extra time to talk through the work that we had done to make sure that we were ready to go fly that vehicle," said Steve Stich, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager during a prelaunch teleconference. "In particular, we had a number of special topics relative to the prop system."
Stich mentioned that SpaceX replaced several valves to tackle corrosion issues observed on earlier flights. Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX's vice president of Build and Flight Reliability, highlighted the valuable lessons learned from flying 49 people and numerous cargo missions before this upcoming mission.
With the launch of Crew-8, SpaceX will have successfully sent a total of 53 people to orbit across 13 Dragon flights.
“„We get a chance to experiment and see the hardware on other flights, so there's a tremendous advantage of flying as often as we do and flying the variety of missions that we get to go fly. It's really nice to try some things on cargo vehicles and then see how they work and then make sure and then make sure that we're getting the right performance that we need for the crew missions.- Bill Gerstenmaier
At present, Dragon vehicles are certified for up to five flights, but NASA and SpaceX are collaborating to extend that certification to encompass 15 missions.
"We may not get there in every single system. We're starting that, we're in the middle of doing that work. We're in the middle of going through all those components," Stich said. "Some are actually approved for 15 flights, some we're still in the middle of working on, some of those components had to go through some re-qualification to make sure that they can make it out to 15 flights."
A new Crew Dragon spacecraft is currently under production in Hawthorne, California. Stich mentioned that it's expected to be prepared for the Crew-10 mission in early 2025. Gerstenmaier further noted that SpaceX aims to have the vehicle ready for service by the fall of 2024.
"So whenever NASA wants to go ahead and use that vehicle, it will be available sometime this fourth quarter of this year," he said.
The first stage booster assigned the tail number B1083 will embark on its inaugural flight for this mission. Approximately 7.5 minutes after liftoff, it is slated to touch down at Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Residents in the Central Florida vicinity may hear a sonic boom as the booster returns for landing.
The Crew-8 mission is scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 39A at 10:53 p.m. EST on Sunday, March 3 (03:53 UTC Monday). This launch was initially slated for March 1 but faced delays because of poor weather conditions in the area where the crew would be rescued in the event of an emergency during ascent.
According to forecasts by the 45th Weather Squadron, there's a 75 percent chance of favorable weather on Sunday, with attention focused on upper-level wind sheer and cloud cover around the launchpad. Spaceflight Now will provide live coverage from the Kennedy Space Center Press Site, starting approximately four hours before liftoff.
For three out of the four members of Crew-8, this mission marks their debut. However, Michael Barratt, serving as the pilot, brings experience, having previously flown aboard a Soyuz and Space Shuttle Discovery to the ISS in 2009 and 2011, respectively.
“„The idea of multiple vehicles is just such a positive sign of human spaceflight to begin with. Different entities: government agency, private agency, different government agency. Human spaceflight is flourishing and that's a really good thing.- Michael Barratt
Barratt noted that while the SpaceX Dragon offers its advantages as a newer spacecraft, there's a certain admiration for the rides he experienced in the past.
"There's a lot of common elements. Physics transfers quite nicely, but the functionality, the redundancy, the safety, the creature comforts, the human interfaces are all different between vehicles," he said. "And I find that personally very exciting to learn those differences."
Mission Specialist Jeannette Epps underwent training for three different spacecraft. Initially slated to join Expedition 56/57 in 2018, she was unexpectedly removed from the mission without clarification from NASA. Subsequently, she was reassigned to Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft for its first operational flight, which faced significant delays.
Epps expressed that the commentary from others over the years holds little significance to her at present. She emphasized her excitement about embarking on her first space journey after being chosen as an astronaut in 2009.
"I gotta stay focused on what's important and number one for me is trying to be a conscientious worker and in training, being conscientious of the work that's in front of me and making sure I'm not focusing on things that are not important anymore," Epps said. "What happened in the past is in the past and it's going to stay there. I don't want to bring it forward because we have so much good stuff happening now."
During a prelaunch press conference, Epps shared that the most significant memento she'll carry to space is a picture of her mom. In a one-on-one interview with Spaceflight Now, she highlighted the profound influence her mom has had on her journey.
"She knew that I was selected for the astronaut and her words to me were that 'I'm so happy for you. This is what you always wanted in life and I know you're going to do well.' And then, shortly after that, she passed away, which was kind of intense for me in that moment," Epps said. "But having the corps and coming to Houston to live really kind of set me on path of really kind of wanting to make my mom proud of me, if that makes sense."
Commander Matthew Dominick of Crew-8 is embarking on his maiden voyage to space. As a member of the 2017 astronaut class, known as The Turtles, his mission to the space station contributes to the ongoing presence of this cohort of astronauts. NASA astronaut Raja Chari humorously dubbed this concept the "Turtle Takeover" during the launch of Crew-3 in 2021, when he and Kayla Barron lifted off as part of that mission.
"We very nearly lost that. Luckily, there was a small accident with a booster that drove into a bridge, cause Crew-5 is great, Crew-5 is a great group of people, but their one drawback was no Turtles," Dominick quipped. "And so, that moved the Crew-5 launch, it allowed Frank [Rubio] to bridge the gap of continuous turtle presence in space between Crew-4 and Crew-6."
Dominick transitioned to the astronaut corps from the U.S. Navy, where he worked as a test pilot. He accumulated over 1,600 flight hours across 28 different aircraft during his naval career.
“„You look at the movies and you think edge of the envelope flying, edge of the envelope of the aircraft, but a lot of test piloting is the planning and the engineering and working with the great groups of people that make it happen. And then every now and then, you go fly a test flight at the edge of the envelope.- Commander Matthew Dominick
Completing the crew is Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. He graduated from Irkutsk High Military Aviation School, specializing in engineering and aircraft radio repair. Additionally, he pursued studies in radio communications and broadcasting at Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics.
Grebenkin commenced cosmonaut training in 2018 and attained the title of test cosmonaut in 2021.
"I would say that for anyone who is doing anything in their life, they need to try and absorb, to the maximum ability, whatever they're working on and to be and to be as multifaceted as possible," Grebenkin said, speaking through a translator. "Everything I've learned has been very beneficial for me in my career as a cosmonaut. I would say I got selected thanks to what I did before."
Grebenkin remarked that training on the Crew Dragon posed challenges. He noted that the travel time between Russia and the United States for training added to the sense of the process being lengthy.
"We had to travel a lot and you’re not just learning the new vehicle, you're meeting a new training team, you're getting accustomed to a new training approach. So, this is different," he said.
New SpaceX Records
The upcoming launch of the Crew-8 mission will signify the fifth flight of the Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. It is poised to become the most experienced Dragon spacecraft in terms of flights, encompassing both crew and cargo versions.
"We took a little extra time to talk through the work that we had done to make sure that we were ready to go fly that vehicle," said Steve Stich, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager during a prelaunch teleconference. "In particular, we had a number of special topics relative to the prop system."
Stich mentioned that SpaceX replaced several valves to tackle corrosion issues observed on earlier flights. Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX's vice president of Build and Flight Reliability, highlighted the valuable lessons learned from flying 49 people and numerous cargo missions before this upcoming mission.
With the launch of Crew-8, SpaceX will have successfully sent a total of 53 people to orbit across 13 Dragon flights.
“„We get a chance to experiment and see the hardware on other flights, so there's a tremendous advantage of flying as often as we do and flying the variety of missions that we get to go fly. It's really nice to try some things on cargo vehicles and then see how they work and then make sure and then make sure that we're getting the right performance that we need for the crew missions.- Bill Gerstenmaier
At present, Dragon vehicles are certified for up to five flights, but NASA and SpaceX are collaborating to extend that certification to encompass 15 missions.
"We may not get there in every single system. We're starting that, we're in the middle of doing that work. We're in the middle of going through all those components," Stich said. "Some are actually approved for 15 flights, some we're still in the middle of working on, some of those components had to go through some re-qualification to make sure that they can make it out to 15 flights."
A new Crew Dragon spacecraft is currently under production in Hawthorne, California. Stich mentioned that it's expected to be prepared for the Crew-10 mission in early 2025. Gerstenmaier further noted that SpaceX aims to have the vehicle ready for service by the fall of 2024.
"So whenever NASA wants to go ahead and use that vehicle, it will be available sometime this fourth quarter of this year," he said.
The first stage booster assigned the tail number B1083 will embark on its inaugural flight for this mission. Approximately 7.5 minutes after liftoff, it is slated to touch down at Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Residents in the Central Florida vicinity may hear a sonic boom as the booster returns for landing.
Rhyley Carney
Author
Paula M. Graham
Reviewer
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